Hole punching machine for paper sheets



July 1, 1969 A 3,452,628

HOLE PUNCHING MACHINE FOR PAPER SHEETS Filed May 2, 1967 Sheet of 6 July 1, 1969 E. PFAFFLE 3,452,628

HOLE PUNCHING MACHINE FOR PAPER SHEETS Filed May 2, 1967 Sheet L of 6 /i 1/ Z J 1/ 4 /0 4 4; 5) j] 4% 4/! i r die j] d; r; J/

INVENTOR.

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juiy 1,1969 E. PFAFFLE 3,452,628

HOLE PUNCHING MACHINE FOR'PAPER SHEETS Filed May 2, 1967 Sheet of 6 INVENTOR.

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July 1, 1969 E. PFAFFLE 3,452,628

HOLE PUNCHING MACHINE FOR PAPER SHEETS Filed May 2, 1967 Sheet 4 of 6 INVENTOR.

Juiy 1, 9 E. PFAFFLE HOLE PUNCHING MACHINE FOR PAPER SHEETS Sheet Filed May 2, 1967 i 2 a 6 a? M; y m V w W 4/ 1 1 m hm% 4 J 0 July 1, 1969 E. PFAFFLE 3,452,628

HOLE PUNCHING MACHINE FOR PAPER SHEETS Filed May 2, 1967 Sheet 6 of e INVENTOR.

United States Patent US. Cl. 83-167 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A table having a stacking station for paper sheets, means for separating groups of sheets from the underside of the stack, pushers for advancing the groups of sheets toward a punching station, and a receiving bin for the punched groups of sheets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The invention pertains to the manufacture of wire bound booklets and particularly to means for punching holes in the edges of the booklet sheets for the reception of the wire hinges.

Description of the prior art Prior punching machines for this purpose have been of various types, but were incapable of feeding several entire books and covers cut to finished size into the punching station and restacking them in the same order, and doing so at high speed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a table with pushers and conveyors for advancing groups of sheets. Means are provided at one end of this table for stacking sheets, and separating means are disposed at the lower end thereof for successively separating groups of sheets from the bottom of the stack. Pushers on the table then advance these groups of sheets toward a punching station where the holes are simultaneously punched in one edge, the groups then being advanced toward a bin where they are collected in the same order as before.

The separating means comprises a pair of slotted discs which both support the stack and act as gates for permit ing successive separated groups to drop onto the table conveyor. The separating means further comprises a finger which reciprocates both horizontally and vertically and a spiral cam rotatably mounted beneath the finger and having a wedge-shaped projection for depressing the corners of successive groups of sheets after they have been initially separated from the stack by the finger. The cam projection depresses the corner of the group sufiiciently to permit it to enter a slot in the rearward rotating disc. The group of sheets then begins to pass beneath this disc, and as it does so, the slotted portion of the other disc passes over the group of sheets so that the group passes under this other disc also. Since it is the two discs that support the 3,452,628 Patented July 1, 1969 ice stack, this group of sheets thus is released and drops onto the table where pushers and conveyor belts transmit it to the punching station and thence to the delivery bin.

The mechanism is capable of separating relatively thick groups of sheets including several complete books and their covers of normal thickness from the stack and of making these successive separations at very high speed. The restacking at the delivery point is made in the same order as the original stacking order.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the machine with some parts being broken away, looking from the delivery end toward the stacking end;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the punching station and the stacking station with intermediate parts, looking from one side of the machine;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the stacking station and its adjacent parts, showing a group of sheets about to be completely released by the forward disc;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the separating means, particularly the finger, rotating depressor cam and forward disc, the parts being shown with the finger in its raised position lifting the stack from the group of sheets about to be separated;

FIGURE 5 is a close-up perspective view of the finger and rotating depressor cam showing the tooth on the cam about to enter the space between the stack and the separating group;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the forward disc;

FIGURE 7 is a side view thereof in the direction of the arrow 7 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a side view thereof in the direction of the arrow 8 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view of the rearward disc;

FIGURE 10 is a side view in the direction of the arrow 10 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a side view in the direction of the arrow 11 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary side cross-sectional view in elevation and taken in the vicinity of the separating means, showing the separating finger, depressor cam, and linkage and cams for controlling the separating finger;

FIGURE 13 is a schematic view showing the drive for the two discs and the shaft which operates the depressor cam and the operating linkage for the separating finger;

FIGURE 14 is a schematic view showing both in plan and elevation the pertinent parts of the separating means in a position just before a group sheets is separated; and

FIGURE 15 is a view similar to FIGURE 14 but showing the parts after the separating finger has entered and lifted the stack, the depressor cam has depressed the corner of the stack and slotted portions of the two discs are about to receive the depressed group.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The machine has an elongated base 11 on which is mounted a table 12. A stacking station is located at one end of the table and has two rods 13 and 14 together with an angular member 15, members 13, 14 and 15 being so located as to retain a stack 16 of sheets and covers the edges of which are to be punched. Member 15 is fixedly secured to the table rods 13 and 14 are adjustably mounted for retaining sheets of various dimensions. The adjusting means for rod 13 comprises an arm 17 secured to the lower end thereof (FIGURE 1), the other end of this arm being pivotally connected to a vertically extending shaft 18. An adjusting link 19 is pivotally connected at one end to arm 17 and has a slot at the other end which is securable by a screw 21 and a block 22 to a horizontally extending bar 23 above the forward end of table 12.

Similarly, rod 14 has an arm 24 at its lower end which is pivoted to an upstanding shaft 25. A slotted adjusting link 26 pivoted to arm 24 is securable by a screw 27 to a post 28 on table 12.

Separating means generally indicated at 29 is located at the stacking station. The function of the separating means will be described in detail below, but basically, it comprises a pair of discs 31 and 32 which are mounted on shafts 18 and 25 respectively, these shafts being driven by motor means described below. Discs 31 and 32 serve both to support the stack 16 and to separate successive groups of sheets from the bottom of the stack and drop them onto conveying means on table 12, this conveying means comprising three parallel endless belts 33, 34 and 35 which extend the length of the table.

Other elements of the separating means include a finger 36, seen in the FIGURES 4 and 5, which passes through an opening 37 in the lower end of guide 15, and a depressor 38 which is carried by shaft 39 rotatably mounted in a post 41 immediately beneath finger 36.

It should be pointed out that discs 31 and 32 are located immediately beneath arms 17 and 24 respectively, with shafts 18 and 25 being so located that portions of the discs will always underlie stack 16.

Parallel guides 42 and 43 extend along table 12 from positions beneath the sides of stack 16, guide 43 being adjustable for different paper widths. A series of weighted holddown rollers 44, 45 and 46 are mounted above table 12, these rollers being on arms pivotally carried by rods 47, 48 and 49, respectively, which extend above the table. These three rods are secured to the aforementioned bar 23. A leaf spring depressor 51 is also provided above table 12, This depressor being located immediately above belt 35 and extending between rods 47 and 49.

Three sets of pushers are provided, these being best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3 and being utilized for pushing successive groups of papers toward the punching station. The first pusher 52 is located beneath stack 16 while the two succeeding sets of pushers 53 and 54 are located adjacent the entrance and exit of the punching station respectively. These pushers project upwardly through openings in table 12 and will be reciprocated, raised and lowered in a coordinated manner to advance the groups of sheets to be punched.

The punching station is generally indicated at 55 and comprises a pair of posts 56 and 57 between which is secured a housing 58 for a reciprocable punch, portions of which are visible at 59. Punch 59 comprises a plurality of members so shaped and spaced as to punch holes in the group of sheets one edge of which rests on a die 61 having holes which the prongs of punch 59 enter. The punch and die will, of cource, be interchangeable with others for different shapes and spacings of holes.

A side guide 62 is located opposite punching station 55 and is adjustable by means of rods 63 and 64 for different widths of paper. A collecting bin 65 is located at the forward end of table 12 for receiving punched and ejected groups of sheets delivered by belts 33, 34 and 35.

It may be mentioned at this point that bar 23 is .secured to a pair of upright members 66 and 67 which form part of punching station 55 and are located inwardly in rods 56 and 57 respectively.

Rods 63 and 64 which carry guide 62 are mounted on rocking arms 68 and 69 respectively, these arms being rockable toward and away from punching station 55 in a manner coordinated with the advancing movement of pushers 54, so that an edge of each group of sheets will be pushed into position within punching station 55.

Referring now to the details of the separating means, the two discs 31 and 32 are shown in detail in FIGURES 6 through 11. These discs preferably have a friction free upper surface and are of sufficient diameter as to support stack 16. Disc 31 has a pair of oppositely disposed slots 71 and 72 which flare in an inward direction. This disc rotates in the direction of the arrow 73, and the trailing edge of each slot is straight while the leading edge has a portion which is curved and a portion which is straight and flares away from the trailing edge. The portions 74 and 75 of disc 31 which are adjacent the leading edges of slots 71 and 72 respectively are bent slightly downwardly, as seen best in FIGURES 7 and 8. The depth of slots 71 and 72 is suflicient to receive the groups of sheets in a manner described below.

Disc 32 is likewise provided with a friction free upper surface and has a pair of slots 76 and 77 extending in opposite directions. The slots are offset from the center of disc 32 and have parallel sides. Disc 32 rotates in the direction of the arrow 78 and the trailing edges of slots 76 and 77 have curved outer portions. The portions of disc 32 adjacent the trailing edges are bent slightly downwardy 'as indicated at 79 and 81.

Separating finger 36 is operated by a pair of earns 82 as 83, as seen in FIGURES 12 and 13, these cams being mounted on a shaft 39 which carries depressor 38. Cam 82 operates a bellcrank 84 through a roller 85 carried by one end of the bellcrank, and the other arm of the bellcrank is connected to a link 86 which carries a roller 87. This roller is engageable with cam 83, a spring 88 holding the two rollers against their respective cams. The upper end 89 of link 86 is pivotally connected to the underside of finger 36. The left hand end of finger 36 as seen in FIGURES 12 and 13 has a sharp wedge shape and the other end carries a roller 91 in a horizontal guide 92.

The relationship between the parts is such that upon counterclockwise rotation of shaft 39 as seen in FIG- URE 12, finger 36 will be successively moved to the left, up, to the right and then down. In its leftward movement it will enter the lower portion of stack 16, as shown in FIGURE 15 and during its upward movement it will lift the stack above the group of sheets to be separated, the group being indicated at 93 in FIG- URE 15.

Adjusting means are provided for determining the position on stack 16 at which finger 36 enters, thereby determining the thickness of group 93. In the illustrated embodiment, the means for adjusting the height of finger 36 includes an adjusting thumb screw 94 seen in FIG. URES 4 and 5. Finger 36 is pivotally supported by a finger supporting member 95, the outer end of which carries roller 91. Thumb screw 94 is utilized for rocking finger 36 to adjust the entering height of the finger.

Depressor 38 consists of a cam-like member having a main surface 97 of constant radius and a portion 98 which extends outwardly and forms a projection. The interior of member 38 is hollowed out as indicated at 99 and the separator rotates in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow 101 in the figures. The location of the rotational axis of shaft 39 is such that the main surface 97 0f separator 38 will normally support the corner of stack 16 within guide 15 at or slightly above the level of discs 31 and 32. However, upon rotation from the FIGURE 14 to the FIGURE 15 position, with finger 36 inserted into the stack and lifting up that portion above group 93, projection 98 of depressor 38 will enter the space 102 shown in FIGURE 15 and depress the corner of group 93 which is beneath it. This will happen just as a slot 76 or 77 of disc 32 approaches the rear edge of group 93. The outer corner 103 of slot 76 or 77 (FIGURE 15) will enter the space 102 and therefore pass above the depressed corner group 93 and the rear edge 104 of the group will pass down into slot 76 or 77.

At about the same time or slightly thereafter, a slot 71 or 72 of disc 31 will approach the adjacent side edge of 105 of group 93. The outer corner 106 of this slot will pass over depressed side edge 105 adjacent guide 15 and thus side edge 105 of the group will also begin to pass through the slot of disc 31. Depressed portions 74 and 75 of discs 31 and 32 will permit flexing of group 93 at is passes through the slots in the discs.

Continued rotation of both discs will thus finally result in the entire group 93 dropping below discs 31 and 32, since the slots are long enough to clear the edges of the group.

Shaft 39 as well as discs 31 and 32 are all driven in synchronism preferably by a common prime mover 107 as seen in FIGURE 13,

Finger 36 will begin to retract while still in its elevated position. At this time a substantial portion of group 93 will be below the discs, except the leading portion which is still above disc 31 and supported by portion 74 or 75 thereof. As soon as this portion of disc 31 is retracted from under the leading edge of group 93, the leading edge will drop to the conveyor level and group 93 in its entirety is now free to be transported to the punching station by the means previously described. It should be noted that the diameter of disc 31 is such that its outer portion will support the leading edge of group 93 sufiiciently to prevent appreciable sagging of any portion of this edge toward the conveyor until it drops all at once.

At the same time that group 93 drops, finger 36 will again have been retracted, depressed and will start to separate another group from the underside of the stack, thereby starting another cycle. One revolution of each of discs 31 and 32 will include two separating cycles.

While it will be apparent that the exemplary embodiment herein illustrated is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the in vention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope of fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mechanism for separating successive groups of sheets from a stack, a disc rotatably mounted beneath and supporting said stack, said disc having at least one slot therein, the position of the disc axis being such that said slot approaches one side of said stack upon each rotation of the disc, a finger adjacent the lower portion of said side of the stack, means for causing said finger to enter said lower portion so as to separate a group of sheets at the lower portion of the stack from the main portion thereof, and means for depressing a portion of said group of sheets in the vicinity of said finger, whereby said depressed group portion will pass into said disc slot when it next approaches said side of the stack, the depth of said disc slot being such that said disc may continue to rotate without the inner end of said slot engaging said group of sheets, whereby continued rotation of said disc will result in said group of sheets passing beneath said disc.

2. The combination according to claim 1, further provided with a second slotted disc in the same plane as the first disc and also serving to support said stack, said second disc being rotatable on axis parallel to said first disc axis, the axis of said second disc being so located that its slot will approach a second side of said stack during each rotation of said second disc, and means for synchronizing the rotational speeds of said two discs whereby said depressed portion of said group will enter the slot of said second disc at approximately the same time it enters the slot of said first disc, the depth of said second disc slot being such that the second disc may continue to rotate until the separated group of sheets passes there beneath.

3. The combination according to claim 1, said depressing means comprising a depressor rotatably mounted adjacent said finger, said depressor comprising a cam having a first surface portion supporting one corner of said stack, a projection formed as a continuation of said first surface portion, and a recessed portion, the shape of said depressor being such that its projection will enter the space created by said finger between the group of sheets and the main portion of the stack and will depress said corner of the group, the means for rotating said depressor being synchronized with the means for rotating said discs whereby said depressing action of the depressor will cause said sides of the group to enter the slots of id first and second discs.

4. The combination according to claim 3, further pro- Vlded with means 0! successively movin said finger toward said stack, raising said finger, retracting said finger away from said stack and lowering said finger, said last-mentioned means being synchronized with the rotation of said discs and depressor.

5. The combination according to claim 4, said lastmentioned means comprising a rotatable shaft supporting said depressor, a pair of cams on said last-mentioned shaft, cam followers engaging said cams, and linkage means connecting said cam followers and said finger.

6. The combination according to claim 5, said linkage means comprising a bellcrank connected to one of said cam followers, a link extending between said bellcrank and said finger and carrying said second cam follower, and means guiding the end of said finger remote from said stack for reciprocating movement toward and away from said stack.

7. The combination according to claim 2, further provided with retaining means for said stack including means for locating one corner of said stack, the first and second sides of said stack which are approached by the slots of said first and second discs respectively being those which form said corner, said finger being located adjacent said corner.

8. The combination according to claim 2, each of said discs having two oppositely disposed slots, the portions of said discs adjacent the leading edges of said slots being slightly depressed to permit flexing of said group of sheets as it enters said slots.

9. The combination of claim 2, further provided with conveyor means under said discs for carrying each separated group of sheets in an advancing direction, the first side of said stack being to one side of said advancing direction, the second side of said stack being the rearward end thereof, the axis of said first disc shaft being adjacent the forward portion of said stack, on one side thereof, the axis of said second disc shaft being adjacent the rear portion of said stack on the other side thereof, said discs rotating in opposite directions.

10. The combination according to claim 9, further provided with means for intermittently advancing separated groups of sheets upon said conveying means, a punch station at the other end of said conveying means for punching holes in one end of each group of sheets, and a bin adjacent said punching station for receiving puinched groups of sheets in the same order in which they were originally in said stack.

11. In a mechanism for separating successive groups of sheets from the bottom of a stack to be advanced on a conveyor, guide means for said stack, a pair of discs rotatably mounted on vertical axes beneath said stack, the axis of one of said discs being to one side of and adjacent the for-ward end of said stack, the axis of the other disc being adjacent the rearward end and other side of said stack, a finger adjacent the rearward end and on the first side of said stack, the finger being adjacent the lower portion of the stack, means for successively moving said finger into said stack, raising said finger, retracting said finger from said stack and lowering said finger, a depressor rotatably mounted adjacent said finger, said depressor comprising a cam having a main surface which supports the corner of said stack adjacent said finger, a projection extending from said surface, and a recessed portion, whereby rotation of said depressor will cause said projection to enter the space between a group of sheets therebeneath and the main portion of said stack raised by said finger, and will thereafter depress said group at said corner, each of said discs having a pair of opposed slots therein, the slots of said first disc approaching said one side of the stack during rotation of said first disc, the slots of said second disc approaching the rear of said stack during rotation of the second disc, and means for rotating said discs and depressor and for moving said finger in a synchronized manner whereby separation of said group by said finger and depression of the corner of said separated group by said depressor will be closely followed by approach of meet the slots in each disc toward said group whereby said one side edge and said rear edge of the group of sheets will enter the slots of said discs, the slots being of sufficient depth to permit continued rotation of said discs until the group of sheets droups therbeneath while the remainder of the stack is still supported by the discs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,278,078 10/1966 Kister 22136 FOREIGN PATENTS 799,182 3/1936 France.

JAMES M. MEISTER, Primary Examiner.

, US. 01. X.R. 83281;221-42,277;271-41 

